The British Medical Journal published the results of a critical look at 3,000 common medical practices, and found that 50% were categorised as having effectiveness that is unknown, harmful, or just plain ineffective. New Scientist listed ten examples.

9. Lowering body temperature in aneurysm surgery. Does not help and increases risk of infection.

10. Ear tube surgery in children. Mostly does more harm than good.

There is a clear need for more skepticism among doctors. If only 50% of medical procedures are proven to be of value, that is not good enough. Only strong, empirical studies should be accepted. Just because something SHOULD work in theory is not good enough.

After 30 years, I just last week visited a doc for help with a number of issues. High Blood Cholesterol which I have had my entire life becomes more problematic as you age. Still, last visit I got an order for some statins to lower the LDL and I did some research at the time and noted that the likely side effects were serious and in my mind not worth the risk absent a "real" consequence of LDL...and at THAT time, the literature had conflicting evidence regarding what came first...lesions in the blood vessels or LDL==>ie that LDL could be protecting the vessel walls.

Well, blood tests showed my LDL is still high so the doc is ordering some statins for me. I plan to now use the Internet to do a more exhaustive pro/con analysis of LDL versus the Medications. I'm hoping the issue(s) have been clarified?

I'll check out the Journal on line or at the library to see if they have any statements on point. For some reason, I'd rather die of natural causes than reactions to medication that may or may not have done any good to begin with?

Medicine and the hooman body. So many errors.

Real Name: bobbo the existential pragmatic evangelical anti-theist and Class Warrior.Asking: What is the most good for the most people?Sample Issue: Should the Feds provide all babies with free diapers?

That sounds like a rational approach to me, Bobbo. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater, but do your own research. As far as I can tell, the use of statins to lower LDL is a net benefit. But I will be interested in your findings.

You could always try the non-medicinal approach: Quit smoking, lose a little weight, eat a low-carb diet, get a little more exercise, and find a way to reduce the amount of stress in your life. May I suggest singing? It seems to have some health benefits, and may increase your overall happiness and improve your overall sense of well-being: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/i ... happy1.htm

Singing can have some of the same effects as exercise, like the release of endorphins, which give the singer an overall "lifted" feeling and are associated with stress reduction

Me, I like singing Christmas carols. Most people don't appreciate hearing them unless it's around Christmas, though. And even then, they get annoyed after the first five minutes or so....

No better than a placebo? I doubt this - unless people usually die immediately after vertebroplasty. A good friend fell and broke several neck vertebra, and I seriously doubt a placebo would have kept him alive for more than a day or so. But he is finally home, after vertebroplasty and about six months hospitalisation. Of course maybe he is truly the exception - or possibly vertebroplasty is being used for non-critical injuries.

I have never heard about Vertebroplasty before. At first glance it sort of makes sense, (which means nothing in the real world)

"Vertebroplasty is an outpatient procedure for stabilizing compression fractures in the spine. Bone cement is injected into back bones (vertebrae) that have cracked or broken, often because of osteoporosis. The cement hardens, stabilizing the fractures and supporting your spine"

I am definitely not an expert in this field. I merely quote what others, more expert than I, are saying. The reference above casts a bit of doubt on vertebroplasty, suggesting it may not be better than other things such as bed rest. This reference is from a very reputable source.

I am definitely not an expert in this field. I merely quote what others, more expert than I, are saying. The reference above casts a bit of doubt on vertebroplasty, suggesting it may not be better than other things such as bed rest. This reference is from a very reputable source.

I can see that - for a fracture where the pieces are where they belong and are thus probably going to heal in place....

Conclusions Individual patient data meta-analysis from two blinded trials of vertebroplasty, powered for subgroup analyses, failed to show an advantage of vertebroplasty over placebo for participants with recent onset fracture or severe pain. These results do not support the hypothesis that selected subgroups would benefit from vertebroplasty.